Hillary Clinton enters the race for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination

[Muscletang]

Analysis: Clinton enters historic race

WASHINGTON - Hillary Rodham Clinton enters the race for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination with unrivaled political strengths and challenges to match, a former first lady turned senator, soon to be tested in a campaign unlike any other in American history.

While Clinton seeks to become the first woman commander in chief, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record) is in the early stages of what promises to be the most credible White House campaign ever by a black politician.

One year before the first caucus and primary votes are cast, sheer star power sets them apart from the pack of contenders who will now begin to debate the war in Iraq, health care, federal deficits and more.

"All things considered, she is a little bit more a front-runner than Senator Obama," said Geoff Garin, a Democratic pollster not aligned with any candidate. He put the odds at "better than 50-50 that the nominee will come from that pair."

That is to the chagrin of New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, embarking on a bid to become the first Hispanic to preside from the Oval Office. Not to mention the white men in the race — a group that includes the party's 2004 vice presidential candidate, John Edwards, as well as Sens. Joseph Biden (news, bio, voting record) of Delaware and Chris Dodd of Connecticut, Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack and possibly others to follow.

"Clinton is widely respected among Democratic voters of all stripes for being very smart and someone with important leadership qualities," Garin said.

"Among Democrats the Clinton years are remembered as some of the best times, not just for the party but for the country."

The former first lady won a second Senate term last fall after raising more than $40 million, much of it from donors who presumably understood her ambition did not end with re-election to Congress. Her most recent filings indicate a campaign treasury in excess of $13 million.

Many of the senior strategists who worked on her husband's two winning campaigns are now on her payroll, and Clinton loyalists around the country await a summons to duty.

Clinton joins the race after six years in the Senate from New York in which she has worked to establish a political identity independent of her husband's.

She took a seat on the Senate Armed Services Committee and fought for anti-terrorism money for New York City. She tended so well to the concerns of upstate constituents that she carried more than three dozen counties in 2006 that had supported President Bush two years earlier.

But the Clinton years are remembered, even by Democrats, for more than good times, from the endless Republican assaults on the president and his wife to Monica Lewinsky and impeachment. Look carefully at the video posted on her Web site and notice the former president's image in photographs on the table behind her.

Widely viewed by Democrats as the pre-eminent politician of his generation, he is blurry and in the background. He will not stay that way, and one of her challenges will be to bring him into the best possible focus for her candidacy.

Garin referred to another one. "The Clinton campaign needs to recognize that voters have questions about Hillary Clinton and whether she can be a unifying figure."

No candidate chooses to run as a divisive figure, but Obama, in particular, seems intent on casting himself as a fresh new leader.

"Challenging as they are, it's not the magnitude of our problems that concerns me the most," he said on a video posted to his Web site. "It's the smallness of our politics. ... We have to change our politics, and come together around our common interests and concerns as Americans."

Republicans look at Clinton with something like grudging respect.

"Her strengths are she is very smart, she is very tough and she is very calculating. And I don't think that we should underestimate the appeal she would have to suburban women," said Ed Gillespie, former chairman of the Republican party who is not aligned with any of this year's GOP contenders.

"On the downside, she is very polarizing at a time when polarization is not an appealing trait in candidates in either party. And she doesn't always calculate correctly."

Clinton knows that she has been viewed as a divisive figure and began trying to reshape opinion on Day One. "We all need to be part of the discussion if we're all going to be part of the solution. And all of us have to be part of the solution," she said on a video posted on her new campaign Web site.

Clinton joins the race at a time when the war in Iraq dominates, an issue that Gillespie noted may cause her some difficulty with the anti-war activists who will help pick the Democratic nominee.

As a woman, particularly running in wartime, Clinton bears an especially heavy burden as she tries to establish her qualifications to become commander in chief.

Like many Democrats, she voted to authorize the war in Iraq when the issue came before Congress in 2002. Like others, she grew increasingly critical of the Bush administration as the months passed and the casualties mounted.

But Edwards, for one, made a point of apologizing for his vote, and she has not.

Returning from a recent trip to Afghanistan and Iraq, she sought to strike a balance.

She said the United States should deploy more troops to Afghanistan to fight the Taliban, and announced she will introduce legislation capping the number of troops in Iraq.

"I do not support cutting funding for American troops, but I do support cutting funding for Iraqi forces if the Iraqi government does not meet set conditions," she said.

Thoughts?

She has made all the right moves the past few years to make herself look good to get here. IF she gets into office, her power trip begins.

[taranaki]

Originally Posted by Muscletang

She has made all the right moves the past few years to make herself look good to get here.

Same as any other politician. To survive in politics [particularly US politics] thesedays, you either have to live constantly with one eye on the P.R., or have the kind of network of friends that can erase your indiscretions.

The 08 campaign is projected to cost around $2 BILLION. An horrendous amount of money will be spent on all sides,the electoral process has become an auction with the person buying the most swing voters getting the job.

America is long overdue for a female presidential candidate. Somehow I doubt that the traditionalists are ready for a female president but given the incompetence of the incumbent,there will be more undecided voters than ever before. With control of both House and Senate, the Democrats are already favoured to be leading the country after the election. Both parties have tough choices to make for their final candidates. If the Republicans decide to put another empty-headed bully up for office, the Democrats may as well field Clinton. The war in Iraq has been a total failure, and any republican candidate that endorses any notion of continuing it or duplicating it elsewhere will lose.

['97ventureowner]

Can you imagine a Clinton/Obama ticket for 2008? That has a lot of appeal for the women and minority vote.
Exactly two years from today (1/20) we will inaugurate a new President, just 731 days left for Bush

[VR43000GT]

I would be shocked if Hilary were to win presidency. I think there are still too many people out there that will not vote for her because she is a woman and the others see what a bitch she is.

[xeroinfinity]

This is wierd!

I couple weeks ago,
I had a dream that Hillary Clinton was elected president.
She had an african-american vice president, but I never caught his name....

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by '97ventureowner

Can you imagine a Clinton/Obama ticket for 2008? That has a lot of appeal for the women and minority vote.
Exactly two years from today (1/20) we will inaugurate a new President, just 731 days left for Bush

That is a recipe for disaster. If Obama is on the ticket don't count on the minority Hispanic vote. I'd tell you all what my wife said but her language wasn't too nice.

New Mexico Governor Bill Richards would be a much better choice. He is a real statesman with a proven track record that even moderate Conservatives or swing voters would consider.

BTW - 731 days is a long time especially for the anti-Bush crowd.

[ericn1300]

You know, I never really liked Hillary. She just seems to be a policy wonk with no real personality, and voters don't go for wonks unless they have the persona also.

['97ventureowner]

Originally Posted by bnaylor

BTW - 731 days is a long time especially for the anti-Bush crowd.

But it's still better than where we were 2 years ago at 1461 days to go . Now that's a LONG time .

[xeroinfinity]

Originally Posted by xeroinfinity

This is wierd!

I couple weeks ago,
I had a dream that Hillary Clinton was elected president.
She had an african-american vice president, but I never caught his name....

... Ok , so maybe it was a nightmare

We all just need to realy investigate the canidates for election.
Like Making sure none would have alterier motives,
that would give them gains over thier monitary values.

[03cavPA]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6282389.stm

She says that she's "in to win." I wonder what that will mean in her campaign with regards to Obama? If she wants the nomination, she'll have to either take some hefty shots at Obama, or put him on her ticket as VP.

This guy Obama seemingly came out of nowhere and a number of people are raising some (false? true?) concerns about his muslim heritage. His full name is Barack Hussein Obama, but he says he's a devout Christian. This campaign is going to be quite painful to watch. The mud is going to be at least neck deep, if not worse.

Add to that, Schumer's book is out, and he makes some pretty good observations about the Democratic party's failure to keep sight of the middle class, instead serving their special interest masters.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,245220,00.html

It's not like I have any control over what happens at this point, anyway. I registered Independent years ago. I do agree with Schumer: the Democratic party forgot about me and people like me (average middle class) a long time ago. In fairness, the Republicans aren't any better.

They all like our tax money, but they want to erode our values and concerns as much as they can. Sorry, that's off-topic.

[TexasF355F1]

So Bill would become First Bitch.

[nismogt_rfreak]

Originally Posted by TexasF355F1

So Bill would become First Bitch.

No, Bill would be the first bitch's bitch.

[YogsVR4]

I think her gender is a wash. Some will vote for her because she's a woman and other won't for the same reason.

The main reason to not vote for her is she's a political hack. She governs by whatever the pollsters tell her instead of doing whats right. Sure, there are few politicians who do, but I have more trust in people who follow their convictions (regardless of how ludicrous some of them are).

[fredjacksonsan]

I heard part of an interview with her last week. She sounded pretty good, but then the questions got tough and she refused to give a straight answer, backpedalled, and hemmed and hawed a lot and didn't answer the questions at all. I quickly lose respect for politicians that can't answer a question, regardless of whether I'd like their answer or not.

With only 2 valid political parties, it will again come down to the lesser of two evils. We'll see who grabs the nomination for each party. Until then, it's pure speculation since we citizens get no say in the candidate selection process, only in the final election.

[mellowboy]

Originally Posted by 03cavPA

This guy Obama seemingly came out of nowhere and a number of people are raising some (false? true?) concerns about his muslim heritage. His full name is Barack Hussein Obama, but he says he's a devout Christian. This campaign is going to be quite painful to watch. The mud is going to be at least neck deep, if not worse.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp